so to speak) because I've been so busy writing I haven't had time to answer two follow-up emails sent to me from a book club I spoke to in Grand Rapids, Michigan via speakerphone
last week. Here you go:
Q: Which one of your novels is your personal favorite? My next one. It's always my next one. After spending a year writing a novel, you get tired of it. It's an exhausting process, the writing and rewriting, not to mention poking and prodding your characters to behave the way you need them to. It's always nicer to imagine a 'fresh start' with
a brand new story you delusionally believe will be easier to write than the last one (insert laughter here).
Q: Where do you do the bulk of your writing?
See photo above. This is where I do 95% of my writing. I don't like to move around, dragging my laptop out onto the deck or down to the river, etc. This is my office, and when I'm in it, I mean business. And on days when my mind wanders, I have a great reminder of what I'm there for tacked to the wall above my desk. If you click on the photo it'll enlarge and you can probably see it (please excuse the messy desk!)
17 comments:
Great bear photo on the wall.
Woof!
So when you are writing a book you already know what the next one is going to be about?
When is your next novel
coming out?
I read The Penny Tree last month and then bought Tin Box. I loved them both. You made me cry so hard, especially Tin Box!!
Can't wait for the next one.
My girlfriend read your first novel and bawled her eyes out.
She told me I should read it too. Took me five months to get around to it but I finally did.
Incredible story!
(Nice office too)
You're saying it doesn't get easier with each new book you write?!!! B-i-g groan. You just popped my bubble Ms. Kennedy.
I'm never gonna bust into this
business (lol)
John, thanks for popping by and congrats on your NYT bestseller news. It's well deserved! When I'm in New York in April or May we'll have to have lunch again.
Kyla-Dale -- So far, that's how it's worked for me. I have the next two novels mapped out in my head anyhow.
Ramona -- My next novel will be out in April. It's called The Silver Compass. I hope you'll watch for it and thanks for dropping in on my blog.
Adam -- See? Your girlfriend is a clever, clever girl.
Wordman17 -- Of course you will. Just finish your first manuscript and then start sending out those queries. You'll be fine.
I love your reminder. Simple and to the point. ;-)
What a cozy, cheery space with everything close sat hand. It's not so much your office, Holly, as it is your haven.
You're there to stare at your reflection in the screen, like the bear's staring at his? :-p
Or are the two paired together so that when you start staring at your reflection in the computer screen, you remember you're supposed to write? :-)
Cool office!
I need a place where I mean business...what a good thing for a writer to have!
Notice something? All the Kleenex on the desk?
I never read Holly's books without crying.
Pat, I too noticed all the kleenex. Maybe Holly has a cold?
Holly, what I liked best were the antique typewriter and the kitty bed (looks like my house!).
Well, that one word just sums it all up, eh?
A little bit every day...slow but I'll get there.
And characters...man, half the time I can't get them to say a word, then when they do talk, they never say the right things. I need a cattle prod.
W R I T E
That's all I'd need.
That one word on the wall,
a good chair, and a clean
desk (minus any Kleenex) lol
That is one beautiful office! I have a tiny glass compuer desk in the middle of the back of the house, where Mark works from home and next to the kitchen so I can perform my housewiferly duties. UGH! That's why I wear headphones when I write. And tomorrow it's back to revisions. A week off for "vacation" (hardy har har with 3 kids with autism) and I'm ready to finish the MS this week! Er, month. Yes. THIS MONTH.
Wow, that's a real perfeshnul looking office!!! But I'm glad you have a messy desk. It makes me think you spend more time WRITING and less time TIDYING which is my excuse for...well, everything.
I drag my laptop everywhere. I'll never have a desktop computer again! Maybe I move around a lot because I don't have one dedicated room for working in. I like my little nook but it tends to get overtaken my family room stuff. Maybe I have to get a little more territorial about it.
I have the next 2 books in my head too. It's a good feeling. The well won't run dry. Can't wait til April to read your next one! (And I think I saw a copy of LOTTERY on you desk!)
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